OPC, Opening A Collector's Golden Gate By Carla Bianpoen

There was a time when collecting art works was exclusively limited to the rich and well-to-do segments of society. Until today it is often the rich and powerful that is privileged enough to collect works of art painted by such luminous painters considered as the Masters in the world of Indonesian art, such as Abdullah Suriosubroto, Raden Saleh, Affandi, Hendra Gunawan, and some more.

Societal changes however, have shifted the trend of collecting to also include those who may be less wealthy, but have been swept into a life style where having or purchasing an art work adds to a person’s social status. 

To facilitate aspiring collectors find their way in appreciating art of living artists and support the development of contemporary art, in 2019 the doyenne of Indonesian art Melani Setiawan and the director of Art Jakarta, Tom Tandio, followed-up on the Japanese collector Hiroko Ishinabe’is 2007 facilitating initiative for contemporary art. They founded the One Piece Club-Indonesia in 2019. The founders are backed up by a board consisting of pre-eminent architect Cosmas Gozali, artlover Winda Malika Siregar and actress/model, and cinematologist Dian Sastrowardoyo.

The Club is open to all those interested in contemporary art, at an annual fee of 1 million IDR per year. Club members are requested to collect at least one piece a year of a living artist, and are encouraged to join art talks, gallery tours and art events organised by the Club. Needless to say that galleries, dealers and professional artist are exempt from membership.

My interview with just three of the more than 60 members, reveal that OPC membership is a powerful stimulator for upcoming collectors to dig in deeper into the knowledge of art and artists, and find a way of collecting according to their personal interests.

I was surprised to find that their collection and their choices boast an air of the professional, that may even be beyond the limits of a novel collector. 

Joel Sen, for instance, who says he is just a novel collector, appears to have in his collection a work by Affandi, one of the five maestros of Indonesian visual art. It’s just a very small work says Joel, and yet it appears a precious jewel. Joel, a lawyer who commutes between Singapore and Jakarta, reveals how this little painting of the sea, had its fatal attraction on him.’ Usually Affandi paints his boats against a background of the sea, but here the sea with its crashing waves are in the foreground, while a tiny ship Is hardly visible in the far end’. Another work from his quite expansive collection is an early work by Nyoman Masriadi, who is known for his superhuman images obtusely social commentary. But Joel chose to show his choice of an early work that may be subdued but already was showing signs of the artist’s his later works.

Then there is Willis Turner Henry, the cofounder of Mama First, a private company to help women take charge of their heath with personalized care options.  Willi’s collection in a way shows the state of mind she was in when collecting the shown works. A Graduate of the School of Art and Design, and Media, who achieved her BFA (with honors) in Photography and Digital Imaging of Nanyang Technological University, became a lighting designer for a company in Singapore. Willis was an outstanding artist participating in various art events. She revealed that her purchase of Vendy Metodos’ work ‘Insecurity is a Disease’, mirrored her own state of mind at a time when she was at a loss which direction to go. Metodos is known to be inspired by anxiety, political cynicism and social.

Some other works she purchased include Aurora Arizzi, an Indonesian artist who works in paper sculpture and drawing, reinterpreting everyday objects. Another acquisition includes ‘Ritus Api’ by the now internationally well-known artist Balinese Citra Sasmita, whose works typically unravels gender inequality in Balinese patriarchal narratives.

Callista Arsyad, who works in a tech company as Product & Business Development focusing on Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) for Financial Services. Callista revealed she was drawn to the artist Ay Tjoe Christine’s work as she felt the abstract held a deeper feeling of emorion which resonated with her own. Ay Tjoe Christine was earlier known for her drypoint mastery that carried a deep emotional depth. She evolved, however, becoming an exemplary painter with deep emotional depth, becoming Indonesia’s first and only highest paid woman painter and a leading presence in Sotheby’s auction.  Another work in Callista’s collection is made by the artist Mujahidin Nurrahman, who is well known for his beautiful, delicate papercuts taking the form of arabesques concealing  the shapes of AK47 weaponry. Callista remarked she was impressed by the artist’s refined textural composition and the depth of meaning, that infused the artist with a sense of peace and harmony amidst conflicts raging in the world. Calliste revealed that her interest also involves art of the present spirit of the time, following her occupation with an  Artificial Intelligence company, she is  further  interested in the work by Jake Elwes’ print and video ‘Queering the data Set’. Jake Elwes is a British media artist and radical faerie, neuroqueer who explores Artificial Intelligence to create art in mediums like video, performance and installation.

As well, OPC is a soft but potent power to support personal inspirations to enrich the world of art.